Estill County

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History

"An act for erecting a new county (Estill) out of the counties of Madison and Clarke. Approved January 27, 1808. An act supplementary to the act entitled "an act for erecting a new county (Estill) out of the counties of Madison and Clarke." Approved February 19, 1808. Estill County officially became the fiftieth county on April 1, 1808.

The county was named for Captain James Estill, an early explorer and pioneer who was killed in a battle with Wyandot Indians on March 22, 1782. The battle is called the "Battle of Little Mountain" or "Estill's Defeat", which took place near present-day Mt. Sterling, Kentucky. Captain Estill had previously established Estill's Station three miles south of what is now Richmond, Madison County, Kentucky, and had made many trips by horseback up and down the Wilderness Road guiding early settlers from the Cumberland Gap into Kentucky. Estill County has many places of historical interest and many spots abound in Pioneer and Indian lore.

According to reputable historians, Christopher Gist lead an expedition into what is now Estill County in the early Spring of 1751. Daniel Boone came in 1769 and others, including the McAfees, came into the county within the next few years. The first court was held in the county at Sweet Lick. Among the early settlers in Estill County were the following families: Proctor, Todd, Park, Clark, Oldham, Broaddus, Holliday, Miller, Witt, Tudor, White and Friend." - Place Name Survey-Estill County, Kentucky, Bobby L. and Lorene Rose, circa 1970s.